The Tales of Two Tacticians
by Night Rider 7
Summary: All it takes is one spell gone wrong, and Robin's seeing double. Not only that, there's a threat eclipsing Ylisse that arises afterwards. The two events are related somehow-and what appears to be a coincidence is anything but. Yet even with two tacticians teaming up, it may not be enough to halt the destruction of all they know.
1. Prologue: Twin Tactician Magicians

Life's a funny thing.

It's so tangible, so concrete-yet can be as delicate as the prettiest flower.

And it's flexible. It can be many things.

Like a game. It's an abstract, infinitely bigger than you can imagine game board at your very hands. Sometimes you may feel you're in control and can roll with the punches as they come. You feel unstoppable.

But then there's the unexpected happenings. Things you never would have seen coming, whether they were completely random or possibly brought on by your own hand somehow. It's the minor plays, _mistakes,_ that may happen that can discombobulate the entire game and cripple its fate.

Things that can lower, even destroy the chances of you winning.

I'd say my experiences are similar to that.

Now life is saying, 'Oh, Robin! I know it's been several months since Grima's defeat, but let me present you with a spell you can't help _but_ to cast and watch as you blow a gigantic, black vortex into existence in the middle of your study!'

I think I have one of the most.. _._ peculiar runs through life, and I'm still pretty young. And the whole thing with amnesia deleting about 99.98% of my previous life as I knew it (that .2 percent accounts for Chrom's name and my own, just for reference) and coercing me to take on a virtually new identify after meeting Chrom and the others two years back.

But by the gods, I don't know how long I could survive at this rate. Three months between destroying a massive hell dragon and now gave a lot of time for casual eating, studying and being…er, normal, I should say? I could've gone longer with this whole 'normal' lifestyle.

You know, and not have to worry about giant black holes being blasted in my study. But to my fault, I'd brought it upon myself with the cards I was dealt. Gods only knows how I messed myself up this time.

 _"KYAAA!"_

I blink, breaking out of my daydream. Only a moment later there's a flash of light and the vortex spits something out. It crashes into me, making me stumble over my own feet and collapse backwards into a bookshelf. A bookshelf. It reminds me of the tome I had used to cast this Hell Hole Hex. As soon as I cleaned up my study that book was going into timeout. "Ow...godforsaken thing..." I mutter, then look down. There's a person on top of me.

Well, I wasn't expecting the recreation of physical matter to transpire during this experimental process, so I'm a bit puzzled. Even more so when I notice what they're wearing— my exact same black set of robes that I always favored! Did I clone myself or something? Tharja would have a field day with that…a rather horrifying one.

"Uh, hello?" I say. Their head is somewhere in my abdominals, so I can't see their face. I can clearly see their hair, which is the same white sheen that I had. It trails a bit longer than mine, but that could help other people differentiate me from him. This was revolutionary, groundbreaking! I had to see what this 'extra' me was all about.

I take New Age Robin by the shoulder, shaking a bit. "Excuse me, sir? Are you alright?" I hear a groan, and he finally raises his—

- _HER_ head up, looking up at me. It's a woman. Oh goodness, I created a woman me. I don't think this could get any more awkward.

For a moment she and I just stare at each other, then suddenly this me lookalike jerks and raises up. She shoves me away, scrambling up to her feet. "You dastard, I am _married!_ "

"Pardon me for acting as an impromptu landing pad, but I'm not interested in any woman who's in wedlock. Or looks like me." I add.

She-me scowls a bit, eyeing me suspiciously, and I can see her mentally comparing our appearances. "…who ARE you?" She says finally. Then she looks around my trashed study, her eyes widening. "And WHAT have you done to my study?"

"Uh, huh?" I stand up, waving an arm about. "This is my home, milady. You're the one who came flying out of that hellish portal."

"Portal?" She says incredulously.

I move around her, pointing to where it is. "Yeah, it's right there...uh, disappearing."

"WHAT?" She shoves me aside into a wall. "Nooo! Damnation! It's gone! It's shrunk down to nothing! How am I to get back...er, uh...to home?!"

I pull my head out of the hole in the wall, breathing a sigh of relief. Oh, so it wasn't a clone of me after all! Thank goodness. I couldn't imagine how strange it'd be explaining how I made a female that looks like me. I'd get all types of flak—mostly from the crowd of women that chase me every Friday, but that's a different story.

Meanwhile, she's searching the area where the portal vanished frantically. "I can't stay here. I don't...I don't belong here in this world...!" She sighs, going down to her knees.

"Hey...I can just cast the spell again if you want me to." I say, going to her.

She turns to meet me, incensed. " _If_ I want you too? I do! I don't know exactly what you were doing or why you even exist. It's absurd! I never thought of having a...male lookalike."

"I think I'm understanding all this now, though." I say "At first I thought you were a copy of me, but I recall reading a book on the concept of theoretical multiverses not too long ago..."

She perks a bit, and visibly loses some of her steam. "CTM Edition 3.02, penned by Victor Vanus III?"

"The very same. I think I may have pulled you from your universe." I scratch my head, then shake it. "Though, I have no clue how I botched a scrying spell that badly."

"You were trying to cast a scrying spell." She says slowly. "What on _earth_ were you trying to see?"

I rub the back of my head. "…what they had on the menu at my favorite tavern."

"Oh, for the love of—today is Wednesday! They always serve the beetroot pie and hard apple cider. It's my favorite Tavern as well!" She narrows her eyes in a slight glare. "You mean to tell me that you ended up pulling me across space and time because of _that?"_

I extend my arms out. "I couldn't remember! And the trip there takes me several hours on foot, so I didn't want to go and be disappointed with what they were serving…..uh, where did you get that rock from and what are you going to do with it?"

"I think a nice blow to the head will knock some sense into you, because so far I have seen none!"

She's coming towards me now. Oh gods, she really was going to clout me! "Hey, wh-whoa WHOA," I back up. She stops and watches me closely. "Listen...you're not stuck here." I say carefully. "I'm going to try to replicate the spell, but you've got to help me find the book first."

She huffs, then nods sharply. "Very well, then. You've spared yourself for the moment. What's the title of the book?"

…Uh?

I don't know if it's because I'm nervous, or something else. My mind is blank as my plate was after last week's Royal Festivale Feast. "Uh, it's...I can't-" I begin.

She holds up something new in her hand. Where did she get a fig from? "If you're about to say you can't remember, I will gladly help you."

I raise my hands up. "Okay, _eeeeasy_." Goodness, this woman was as hot-headed as any bull. "Maybe it slipped my mind because I'm nervous right now and you look like a madwoman with a fig. Just...maybe put it down, and I can recall."

"Fine."

I blink, and her hand is suddenly empty. I don't know what's scarier, the fact she can do that in general or how many people she's blindsided. Either way, I'm still as blank as when Chrom first found me lying in the field two years ago. I look about, maybe trying to get a glimpse of it. "What...what the? Why can't I...I can't remember what happened to it!"

I stop and rub my temples. Something was wrong; no, something was VERY wrong, and I just noticed. I can't remember what the book was entitled-nor do I remember casting the actual spell. What fresh hell is this? It's like this huge chunk of memories separated between me sitting down with the book and me rambling in my head about life. Oh damn, the spell must've driven me crazy and I didn't realize until now!

Someone taps me on the shoulder, and I turn to face her. "You've been rambling under your breath like some old crazy these past moments. Do you not remember what you've done?"

"I...that's just it, I can't remember what happened! All I know is that-"

"The book you-and I, by the way-received was from a private wing of the Ylissian library, after the new bookkeeper Amara recommended it to us," She finishes. "May I remind you that it was a book of the dark arts, so astutely crafted to mess with your mind?"

"You're good."

"No, I'm just still spared my wits. Perhaps it did something to your mind while you were casting it. It's equally likely you just made an error somewhere. A typical spell used for clairvoyance should NOT have had a physical effect in reality." She raises an eyebrow. " _Especially_ something as extreme as pulling someone across space and time."

Aggressive _and_ blunt, I see.

"I've got to find that book!" I get to my knees, tossing aside various items to search. "Robin, can you help me look through all this clutter for it? I have a vague picture of what it looks like. It's sorrel colored with black binding."

"Quite, since two pairs of hands will get the job done faster, _Robin._ " She quips back.

"Oh! Er, that _is_ your name right?" I ask, pausing for a moment. "I mean…it'd have to be, considering what we've established here today."

"What if my mother wanted to name me something more effeminate, like Nancy or Margaret?"

I cringe slightly. "You don't…look like a Nancy or a Margaret."

"Gods, you're telling me! I could barely get that out." She stoops down near me, sending a wry grin sideways. "Yes, my name is the same as yours, goof. I'm honestly curious to all of the parallels and diversions that run between our universes."

"Well for one, I'd never let my hair grow out that long."

"I'm sure you'd never consider marrying Chrom, either? Seems like a bit of a downer since you're a man, but I'm sure you'll have little issue on finding yourself a wife. I bet you're a real Casanova, aren't you?"

"…you're married to your version of Chrom." I say.

"Yes." Robin grins at me. "You sound a bit jealous there, or possibly I'm imagining it."

"You're _clearly_ imagining it, but goodness…" I get back to work, shuffling aside things as I look. "It makes sense for you."

"Would you marry him if you were a woman?"

"Would I—what? No! What type of question is that?! I…I don't know; I don't think about things like _that_. A-Apparently so!" I add, motioning to her. "I appreciate our close brotherhood as it is, no more! And no, I am _not_ a Casanova!"

Robin laughs a bit. Funnily enough, and she was raging like a she-demon a minute prior. "You're turning red over there. I'm just fooling around with you. Besides, when will I ever get the chance to continue teasing an alternate version of myself like this?"

I get a glimpse of something, and move aside clutter to get to it. "…..well." I say, my voice higher than normal. "I-I suppose you'll have a lot of those chances."

"…what do you mean?!" She quickly comes up next to me, staring down at what I've uncovered. There's the book aright. It seemed to have had a bit of a rough time with the spell backlash too, since it's charred black and the pages are all but readable. I hold my breath as I reach out and touch it lightly.

 _Poof._ It crumbles into a pile of ashes.

"…uh, heh…oops." I rub the back of my head, grinning at her nervously. "Well! Seeing as to how I can't recall how to cast the spell at the moment and the book turned to ashes, I-I believe that you may have to postpone your trip back home."

"You're saying I'm stuck here until you remember the spell."

"I, er...yes. That's exactly what I mean."

* * *

I throw myself out of my home, dashing away with my head covered. Objects are flying like hell bent bats from the front door, headed by a whirling white haired tornado.

" _Inconvincible, irresponsible…BUFFOOOON!"_

* * *

The Tales of Two Tacticians

by Night Watcher 07


	2. Chapter 1: Consequences Bound by Chance

Chapter 1: Consequences Bound by Chance

Well, this day had been certainly interesting. I pulled some inter-dimensional version of myself to my universe, forgot how I did it, and got kicked out of my own house.

All because I couldn't remember that they were serving pie and cider at the local tavern. I should _really_ write that type of stuff down.

I sigh, rubbing my hands behind my head. The grass feels nice underneath me, and really compliments the pallet of brush I've made as a bed. Guess I was about to rough it for the night. One thing I noticed is that my female version is very persistent—she chased me throughout the entire field in front of my house and only gave up when she couldn't track me down anymore. Good thing that there was a tree nearby for me to climb, or else I would've gotten run to the ground.

That was several hours ago. I lean up. From here I have a good view of Ylisstol in the far distance. The sky behind it is golden from the setting sun. For a moment I think; what would Chrom and the others say about this alternate version of myself? I imagine nothing bad, but this was a fairly huge crisis. I don't think I should keep Robin's arrival here from them.

I get up. I have to go talk to her about this. Maybe with the Shepherds knowing about Robin's situation they can help _me_ help _her._

And besides, I don't want to have to run for my life every time that woman sees me. At least I can make an attempt to get her back to her own universe faster, right?

It takes me about a minute to jog across the grassy field and to my house. I can see the shape of someone passing by the window. She was lurking around in my study area, probably waiting for me to get back. And for what reasons I can _only_ guess. I'm just hoping that she doesn't have anything in her hand as I go up to the door, knocking. "Hey...can I come in?"

There's a pause, and I hear something being dragged along the ground. "No." I hear her say.

"Oh come on, don't be like that. Listen...I never apologized, did I? I want to tell you that I'm really sorry for causing you this trouble. If it makes you feel any better, I…I've started to think about how to get you back sooner."

"Is that so?" She's come to the door, because her voice is closer. "That's nice, I suppose. It shows you have even a little respect for my plight despite the fact that you're a bit clueless."

"I...okay." I say carefully. I just needed to keep her calm, and I could get through to her. Just when I'm thinking about how to explain the idea I had to her, the door swings open. Her hand shoots out and grabs me by the neck of my robes, pulling me straight in. Everything is all topsy-turvey for a moment.

When I recover, she's coming towards me with…a log? What the hell?

"So you thought you were finished with me chasing you, huh?" Robin snarls, dragging it across the ground. "Seems like your apology didn't go according to plan!"

She backs me up into a corner. "Look." I say, a lot calmer than I really felt. "I've got an idea. How about we go to the Shepherds about this? I'm sure at least one of them can help us."

"That seems to be a bit half-cocked, don't you think? In what manner could they help us with inter-dimensional travel?!" She pulls the log up into a swinging position.

Oh boy, the clock is ticking..."Would it really matter what the problem is?" I say quickly. "The point I'm trying to make is, they're our friends. They'll try to assist us in any way possible, remember? Didn't we learn that as we met each and every one of them?"

It works. My words seem to resonate with her, and she falters a bit.

"If I were to suggest, having Chrom and the other on our side in _any_ crisis could help lessen the stress a bit." I say gently. "Don't you think? I'm at ends here myself. And you never know…maybe there's something more that can be done for you if we just go to them."

A moment passes, then two. "You're…right." Robin says finally. "I agree with what you're saying."

I smile a bit. "Good, I—"

 _THWACK._

I'm on the ground now. It feels like I've just gotten body slammed by a drunk wyvern. "—hurt." I groan, rolling over to my back.

Robin's furiously grinning face hovers above mine. "But I STILL wanted knock some sense into you! You're a surprisingly good dodger. I didn't get a good hit on you at all earlier and I've been waiting to make up for it."

"Good gods, woman," I say, getting up. "Okay, fine— _fine._ You got me. Now please…ugh…put that thing away?" She knew how to use it, that's for sure. It's then when I notice something—my entire study area is clean. All my tomes are placed back in my bookshelf, all the furniture was righted—had she been in here doing that the entire time? It didn't explain where she got the log from, but I digress.

"You've cleaned up." I say, stunned.

"Yes." Robin says flatly, moving past me and dragging the log with her. She just hurls it out the front door, shutting it behind her before turning to face me. "Does this make you satisfied?"

"Ah, yeah…thanks." I go to sit down on my couch, still a bit winded from getting floored. "Do you want to sit down?"

Robin doesn't say anything, but comes to join me. There's about a foot separating us from each other, and I'm sure she can feel the tension coming from me as I did from her. There's a bit of a silence for a moment and then I sigh a bit, turning my body to face her. She's looking away. "I meant it earlier when I said I was sorry. I know it's a lot to ask of you…but could you forgive me? I don't know how else to say it, I…I simply didn't mean to bring you here, and I'm trying to think of everything I can to get you back as soon as possible."

"….We live in similar universes." Robin says after a moment, still not meeting my eye. "They're virtually identical. Yet…the smallest things that are exclusive to my universe and those to yours make the biggest differences between us. Do you agree?"

"Yes." I say slowly, trying to figure out where she was headed with this. Robin sighs after a moment, then shakes her head slightly.

"I wouldn't be so worked up if one of those differences wasn't me leaving my infant child and my husband behind. I've disappeared without a trace, without so much of a warning…"

I honestly couldn't feel worse at the moment. "Robin, I'm so sorry."

"It's…alright. I'll be fine. And I should be sorry too," She turns her head to me slightly, "I was acting childishly to you while you were trying to explain yourself. Forgive me for that."

Of course I could forgive her, but the bruises all over my body couldn't. Keeping that fact to myself! I nod to her, offering her a hand. "Forgiven."

"And the same." She takes my hand with a slight smile, and we both shake. It feels like it's a bit easier to breathe now. "Oh and by the way, you did get me good earlier." I add, "Though, I'm not so sure I should tell you _where_."

Robin snorts to herself, then we both wind up laughing a moment later. Gracious, I was forgiven. The thing I had been concerned about these past few hours was her forgiveness. I honestly don't think there's anything I fear more than bringing trouble to those who didn't deserve it. All the while, it was nice to interact with her in a way that didn't involve me ducking for cover.

Ah ha, that's it! I've got an idea. I'm going to keep Robin as happy as possible while she's here. She may be homesick, but I'll try to see if I can make up for that some sort of way besides just actively trying to get her back. Her stay was the interterm, of course. I don't know how I could make up for her leaving her version of Lucina and Chrom, but I hoped she wouldn't see them in this universe and start—

 _"Urgh!"_

A bolt of pain strikes me dead in the temple, cutting any sort of rational through from my mind. I place my head in my hands, gripping the sides of it. There's a rushing in my ears and it feels like my skull is being crushed in a vice. I've never felt any pain so intense like this, not even when Validar kept getting into my head. My eyes are shut, but I can distinctly hear Robin asking me…something?

I can't hear anything. The room is too hot, and everything is going black. I can't…

* * *

"Robin?"

It feels cool now. Something wet is on my head, which thankfully doesn't feel like it was about to explode. I carefully open my eyes and see my alternate self looking down at me. I raise up carefully, pressing a hand to my head to keep the wet cloth there. Sunlight is coming in through the open window and it looks like morning time has arrived.

"What happened?" Robin asks quietly as she sits down next to me.

"I…I don't know." I say, breathing a bit hard. My heart is racing in my chest for some reason and the world spins a bit. I rest my head back, shutting my eyes again. I have a vague feeling that I'd been dreaming before I woke up, but of what I equally had no clue.

After a while the thumping in my chest settles and I open my eyes again. Robin is still looking at me, and I'm getting the impression she hadn't looked away yet. "How do you feel now?"

"Better…my head isn't hurting anymore." I say, rubbing my hands through my hairline. I suddenly realize that my robes are off, not that I minded. I still felt a bit hot under the collar.

"Do you remember what happened, Robin?" My alternate self asks. "You passed out last night. I tried to wake you up, but couldn't no matter how hard I tried. It was almost like you were comatose. And when I checked your temperature, you were running a fever."

"I was?" I ask. That makes sense. I remember it feeling like a furnace.

"Mhm. You also started talking in your sleep and saying that you were hot." Robin says. "So I took off your robes and opened the window...and I sure hope no one heard that out of context."

"Heh...it's just me, myself and I here." I say. "But…wow, I don't know what that was. I can't say I was just too tired. It felt different. Maybe I was experiencing some last minute backlash from that spell yesterday. I mean, you saw what happened to the book."

"Well it's a damn good thing you didn't burst into flames." Robin snorts. "I was concerned with how warm you felt, but after I woke up this morning it had gone down.

I stand up, stretching. "Hopefully that doesn't happen again. I _do_ have several things on my agenda that I need to take care of. Do you want to come to Ylisstol with me now?"

"Are you sure you should be up and about so soon after that episode?" Robin asks blankly. "Frankly, I can't say if that's courageous or foolish."

"I'm fine. I haven't keeled over yet." I say, pulling my robes on. "Besides, we still have to get you acquainted with the Shepherds in my universe. Don't want to keep them in the dark any longer than we have to, right?"

Robin hesitates a moment before standing up. "Okay, but if you go beddy-bye when we're heading though the marketplace, don't say I never told you so."

It takes me only a few moments to get ready. It wasn't a day where I went into the capital to shop but I still took some money and put it in my satchel along with two tomes. Even though we were in days of peace ever since Grima fell, it's always been a habit to carry magic along with me. After effect of being through two wars with people trying to kill you at every turn, I suppose.

I give Robin an iron sword from my storage, and she it takes a bit enthusiastically. Surely I can trust she doesn't stab me in the back, right?

"Is there anything you'd like in particular, while we're in town?" I ask as we step out of my house. "Ah! Gaius told me about a confectionery shop that just opened up. I'm sure you'd like to take a peek at that! I should probably get you your own personal magical books too, just in case. You know what they say— 'A tome shared equals a friendship broken'…...er, Robin?"

She's too quiet. I look over to see her staring ahead. "Look at Ylisstol." She says, horrifically. I follow her eyesight. Since my house is set pretty far away and the capital rises at a higher elevation, I've always had a great view of it every time I stepped out.

Always except for now. The entire capital is glowing in a red, fiery haze and there's smoke billowing in a giant, black miasma above Ylisstol.

"…Oh, _no."_


	3. Chapter 2: Ylisstol is Burning

In hindsight, I think should have seen this coming.

I'm no advocate for believing in coincidences. I think everything happens and is set for a reason. And now, my tactical mind couldn't help but to connect yesterday's events with today. It had been peaceful for months with no reports of brigands or any general hostility.

And suddenly something like this happens with no warning. It's a vague thought, and I hope the true connection wasn't what I was thinking it to be.

Robin and I are dashing en route to Ylisstol, and not a single word is spoken as we go. I think she's having a similar thought process as me about this whole matter, but that wasn't important now. Ylisstol was under siege and the Shepherds needed our support. I didn't plan for us to meet up with the them like this, but whatever works. Even if it's a life-or-death scenario.

At last we reach the forefront for Ylisstol, pausing a moment. It takes ten minutes to get there by walking from my house and we cut down that time significantly, so we're quite out of breath. It doesn't help that the smoke from all the fires is making the air heavy.

"Whuh…what…madness is this?" Robin pants. "What are _those_ things?"

Everywhere I can see, there's pandemic. Dark, oddly shaped blob creatures are running rampant. There's some in the streets being fought off by the Ylissian defense and townsfolk alike. The air was filled with them as they leap from roof to roof of buildings, dropping down into the fray occasionally. I honestly don't know where to start to quell the fire because there's so many targets.

The last thing I wanted was for us both to be overwhelmed, since we've still gone unnoticed. Robin turns to me. "We've got to meet with the Shepherds." She says determinedly. "Do you agree? It won't do us well to be overwhelmed here."

"That's a bit scary. I was thinking the same thing." I tell her. We both flinch as a house near us has its roof collapse inwards, weighted down by those black misshapen creatures. "Alright, let's hurry and regroup with them! We need to try to find out about these… _things_ here, too…"

"I've got your back. Just keep moving and we'll power our way through." Robin draws her sword up, and I think I can see a little of her she-demon side in her eyes. Better not keep her waiting at this rate. "Right." I pull a tome out at the ready, facing forward and scanning the area before moving forward without hesitation.

As we get deeper into the streets, I'm watching my sides and front carefully. Robin and I are literally picking our way around people and those creatures alike, the sounds of battle clashing from everywhere. There's an infinite amount of places where we could get attacked from and the danger seems to be averted from us somewhat, but that doesn't stop me from intervening when I can.

I catch every enemy I can with a burst of magic as we go, weakening if not knocking it out completely. Several times we're forced to stop when a battle straggles across our path, but they're usually broken up fairly quickly with a little elbow grease. Everyone's too busy with their own fight to really notice us, but I began to fear as time passed that would change.

But at last I can see the royal palace in the distance and the way there is fairly clear. "Almost there. How are you holding up?"

"I'm perfectly fine. I'm still fired up from cutting down the beast that tried to slash you across the neck earlier." Robin replies.

"What? I didn't even hear all that going on!" I say.

"Well, you _were_ distracted with helping that old man out of the street, and you let your guard down. A bit lucky I was here to cover your behind, wasn't it?"

"I'm beginning to think that your appearance is connected to all this." I mutter to myself. Unfortunately, I don't think I was quiet enough.

"…What?" Robin asks. "What did you mean by that?"

I sigh for a moment, then turn to face her. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said it like that. It's not your fault in any way. It's just…ever since we've arrived I've been thinking that this is all too peculiar. I cast that dark spell yesterday, and you appeared…but what if I did something _else_ in the process? Remember how I couldn't recall anything?"

For a moment I pause, looking ahead at Ylisstol. The smoke from the fires is beginning to get blown in our direction by the wind and I can smell burning flesh, hear the screams of all those people…all those innocent people—

I hadn't eaten anything this morning, but it feels like I'm going to be sick. I turn away from Robin, pressing a hand to my mouth. No no no, please no. I couldn't take bearing the guilt of bringing a full scale invasion to Ylisstol. I'd have damned not only Robin, but countless other people as well. Including…my friends.

Someone takes my shoulder. "Robin…you can't be so sure of that. We have yet to find the true reason behind what's happening here. Don't cast that burden on yourself without proper clarification."

I couldn't argue with that. She was right—I may as well focus on divining the truth of the matter first. I turn around to face her, completely forgetting the thanks I had to give for her comfort. Racing up behind her is one of those dark creatures, shaped roughly like a canine. It lunges, and I can see the flash of white teeth in its mouth.

I'm not ready, nor can I conjure up a spell that quickly. But I'll be damned if she gets hurt because she was helping me get over myself.

I pull Robin around by her arm, moving to shield her with my body. I only have time to register her startled face before fangs pierce me in my upper back. But ha! The joke is on this stupid beast. My robe is a lot thicker than it looks, so it pretty much softened the attack. It didn't stop it from hurting like all the seven hells, though.

I slouch forward a bit over Robin, cringing slightly as the teeth lodged in my back pierce deeper. "Ahh…th-there…" I say. "You're…alright."

Robin quickly pulls out of my grasp then circles around to my rear. I can feel the creature stiffen a bit and then I can feel it pull out of my back, its body thumping to the ground behind me. I turn around slowly with a wince, wanting to get a glimpse of whatever that was, but Robin is on me in the next moment. She takes me by the shoulders. "Are you okay? Do you need Vulnerary?"

"I'll be…fine. I'm…concerned about you." I tell her. I think I can feel blood running down my back, not that I would tell her that. It wasn't enough for me to bleed out, so I could just patch it up later. Robin looks like she's moments from tearing into me.

"Augh, you…oaf! Come!" She puts an arm over my shoulder. "We need to get to the palace and—"

She falters, and it's for a good reason.

Before us there's a tall and nearly indistinguishable shape that had just materialized up from the ground. It's one of those black misshapen blob creatures but looks more defined, resembling a giant human-shape monster. Up this close I can see the goopy, mud like texture of its body and the red eyes peering out from underneath its overly large brow. With a roar it throws its arm out, swinging it into a tree and uprooting it. It then picks up the entire thing, wielding it in the air like a club.

"….heal you." Robin finishes weakly. We both back up as it lumbers towards us, easily over twenty feet tall.

I straighten up, holding my tome at the ready. "Augh— _A-Arcfire!_ " The spell flies from my hand, soaring and exploding brilliantly against this thing's face. It pauses for a moment, and I swear it raises an eyebrow at me in amusement. Did that not work? I charge up another spell and send it flying.

This time it swings the tree in hand up, sideswiping the ball of fire out of existence. As the cinders float to the ground it continues toward us, making the ground vibrate with its heavy footsteps. "Does magic not work on that thing?" Robin gasps as we continue to back away. "I'm not so sure if going in for direct swordplay is any better way to keep our heads!"

I realize that the battle is still going on behind us in the main part of town. It was only a matter of time before one of its subordinates there noticed us, then we'd surely get overtaken. And that's when I hear a voice that sends no shortage of relief through me.

"Hey, _fatass!_ Pick on someone your OWN size!"

A javelin hurls right by us overhead, piercing into the monster's eye. With a loud roar it stumbles around, half blind for a moment. I sigh, looking over my shoulder. Oh thank goodness, the cavalry had come.

Sully roars right up next to us, staring at the new threat with fire in her eyes. "Yeah, not so tough now, ARE ya? Got a little somethin' in your _eye?!_ Har har!"

"Wow Robin, that was close!" It's Ricken and he stops short of us, looking puzzledly at my alternate self. "…uh, who is that? A relative?"

"Well…" I begin. Vaike comes up, slinging his heavy axe up over his shoulder. Stahl is next, stopping his horse mount next to us and leaning over with interest. "Sorry we took so long to get here! You doing alright, Robin?"

"Yeah, and who's your lady friend?" Vaike hoots, slapping me on the back—right where my wounds were, so I had to bite my tongue to avoid saying some choice words. "N-Now's not the time for explanations." I strain. "We need to stop that thing. It might get to the royal palace and cause trouble there."

"Over my dead body!" Sully says. Even though she's not on her killer horse she charges forward with relish and hurtles her second javelin up. This time the monster seems to be expecting it and blocks, using that tree of his. The weapon sticks into the bark and vibrates a moment before staying. The monster then uncovers its face, pulling its mouth into a smirk.

Sully draws her sword out. "Think that's all I got, punk?"

"Whoa, that block was pretty admirable! We got a smart one on our hands, guys!" Vaike shouts, stampeding forward with Sully and Stahl at his rear. Ricken stays just ahead of Robin and I, beginning to charge a spell up. "Ricken." My alternate self says, catching him by surprise. "Just as a fair warning, we tried using magic on it earlier. It may not work in your favor."

"O-Okay. So what should I do?" Ricken asks. "Just be support? Oh! That reminds me," He digs into his robes and pulls out a bottle, holding it to me. "You look hurt, Robin."

"Oh, thank you." I say graciously, downing the contents quickly. It wouldn't completely heal the wound but it'd do fine for now. Already I can feel my strength returning, and the spot on my back feels less painful. "Better...now, it's time to turn the tides of this battle." I say, straightening up. "It's six against one, so let's make it work."

"Look at the ankles. They appear to be surprisingly thin, even though they're holding all that ungodly weight." Robin says.

"And let's get around to its backside. Maybe there's a spot we can exploit there as well." I say. "Ricken, come with us!"

The three of us run a half circle around the monster, keeping our distance. "Vaike, aim the blade at its ankles!" Robin calls. He hears her, and after avoiding a swing from its arm goes for the hit. The big monster lurches forward violently, nearly falling on its face before catching itself.

" _Nice_." I say.

"Whoa-ho, it worked! Thanks, chick Robin!" Vaike shouts.

"Huh, I wonder if all of its joints are like that? Lemme see!" Ricken charges up a Elwind, then shoots it for the monster's left hand. His aim is slightly off but the cut of wind magic slices through the thing's wrist, severing it completely. Sully jumps back as the tree it was holding falls near her, its twitching hand still attached to it. "What the—oh, _hell_ no! This thing reminds me too much of those blasted Risen!"

Ricken laughs nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "Oops, that worked out a bit better than I thought!"

"Good job on that discovery, though." I say, as we circle to its backside. "Now we're getting somewhere!"

"Let's launch an attack to each its knees. When it falls, it'll be _finished!_ " Robin practically snarls. Was it me, or was she a bit more…aggressive than I was?

"Sounds good to me. Ricken—you stay afar, in case we need back support." I say. The Big Lug (as I like to call it, for simplicity) is still distracted from the others at his front, leaving him easy pickings from behind. I direct a bolt of magic towards the back of his left knee. I can see Robin moving into formation, wielding her blade up towards the right one. Both attacks connect near simultaneously, and with good results.

The Big Lug suddenly pitches forward, landing with a crash to his front. Stahl rushes forward and I can see the grin on his face as he raises his lance up. _"_ I _love_ this part!" He makes a direct plunge into the monster's right 'hand', crippling it further. I put that in quotations because it looks more like a…rather immodest body part. Let your imagination run with that as you will.

"Hey, save some for me!" Sully barks, lunging forward and plunging her sword into Big Lug's head. He tosses his head up with a roar, dislodging her and sending her flying backwards. "Oh, feisty! I like it!"

I suddenly notice Vaike. As I watch he leaps up on the tree that Big Lug has dropped, using it to propel himself in the air. "Yeah, _my_ turn!" He slices his axe nearly staff deep into Big Lug's back. It did something—the huge monster shudders a bit, reaching around with one of his nub arms to knock Vaike off.

"No, you don't!" Robin shouts, moving forward and swing her sword in an arc upwards. To my surprise (and I'm sure hers, as well) the blade stops about halfway into the elbow. Did that mean that its joints were nonexistent in some parts but not others? Before I can move, Big Lug shifts his attention to Robin and knocks her back with a thrust of the elbow. " _Kyaah!_ "

I quickly focus a hex through my hand, and she stops before she hits the ground. Whew—good thing I've been working on my levitation hexes lately. "Robin, are you okay?" I ask, going to her. She stands with a grunt, popping the bones in her neck.

"I may have a minor bruise later, but thank you for catching me. Did you see that? Not all his joints are gone."

"At this rate, I don't think we have to worry about crippling him fully. Let's focus on unleashing everything we have on him."

Of course, that was the consensus of all of us at that point. But I guess Big Lug had other options in mind.

The big monster raises a bit, then a spread of black smoke suddenly erupts from around his body. Vaike only has a moment of confusion before he's blasted off. The same happens to us—the weird energy slams into us, knocking the both of us backwards off our feet. It wasn't a little push, either. When I raise up, it looks like we've been displaced at least ten feet back. And speaking of backs, mine was beginning to feel the wounds from earlier. Augh, I hoped they didn't reopen.

"Guys, are you alright?" Stahl calls, the only one who hasn't been knocked away. An advantage to being on a several ton animal, of course. Next to me Robin is sitting up. I can see Sully picking herself up a ways away, looking less than pleased. Vaike's lodged in a tree, and in the next second Ricken runs to join us both. "Whoa, what was that?!" He asks, rubbing at a grass stain on his robes, "How can it still have insane energy outputs like that?"

"I don't know." I say, standing. "But we need to hurry up and…whew…hah…" The wind must've gotten knocked out of me, because it's still a bit hard to breathe…oh no… no, no—I bring a hand to my head, feeling my vision waver a bit. It's too hot. It's getting too hot. Not that accursed fainting spell again! Damn it, now was not the time for this.

And then of course Big Lug stands up to his feet, completely disregarding the fact that we just dismembered him in several places. He turns around and comes for us, revulsion making his already ugly mug even uglier.

But I can't…breathe. My chest feels so tight, and I can't even muster the strength to keep my head lifted. "…Robin?" I hear Ricken say somewhere behind me.

"Oh no, he's...!" My alternate self says, and presumably she's the one the catch me right before I collapse. I haven't blacked out yet, but I can make out Big Lug standing just ahead of us, raising his heavy arm up at us…no, above our heads? I can see some of that dark energy charging up in that 'hand'.

"Ricken, cast a spell towards that arm!" Robin says, panicky. "He's trying to launch an attack to the royal palace!"

"R-Right! _Elwind!"_ It was a spot on shot this time, and for a moment it seemed disaster would be averted. Until the magic blast is stopped at the last minute by some invisible force field, then gets rebounded back at us. This just kept getting better and better.

"Augh!" The three of us are knocked backwards, once again gracing the ground's presence. It's shocking that I haven't passed out yet, but being conscious dead weight is even _worse,_ personally. Kind of an extra smack in the face to be useless _and_ being conscious to realize your're being useless. I try to force myself up, only to find my arms shaking like feathers in the wind. The ground is gradually shaking harder from Big Lug's approaching footsteps. Come on, come on—if that thing gets a hit on the palace, Chrom and the others…

Wait…what?

My chest is loosening all of a sudden. I can breathe now! And as I look down, my arms have stopped shaking. Thank goodness my strength returned…but there's something else. It's a strange feeling welling up inside me now, similar to the one I would get while casting magic or hexes.

"Robin?"

I look up to see my alternate self looking directly at me. For some reason, there's alarm in her eyes. And…her face looks brighter. Her entire body looked brighter! But that's strange—while she was like that, everything else, including my other friends, looked as though they were cast in some dusk light.

I'm not quite sure how to explain this, but I could feel some sort of energy radiating from Robin. Maybe my body was trying to tell me that with selective vision enhancements, but I needed to explore this a bit more. I felt the need to…connect.

I stretch my hand out to her. "Take it." Was that…my voice, echoing like that? Robin hesitates, then does so.

Ah, ha! I knew it! Something brilliant explodes inside my core, as if I've just tapped into Enlightenment! This feeling is _POWER_ , this is everything I could have hoped for! I would not let this opportunity go abandoned, go to waste!

I stand up, pulling Robin with me. Everything is still dark except for her, but I can still see Big Lug. For some reason he's stopped completely, staring at us. Great, it's nice for him to realize his end is coming. I take step forward, brandishing a finger at him.

"You've managed to put up a good fight so far, but now it's time to bring this troublesome quarrel to an end. Get ready to meet my wrath!" Why am I rising into the air? Perhaps a side effect of this magic surge I suddenly got. That's pretty neat! The good thing is, Robin is also hovering alongside me. From the look of horror on her face, I can tell this isn't something she's had the liberty of being a part of before.

"Robin, on my mark—we're going to combine our powers and strike it down!" I say.

"O-Okay! Hm!" She faces forward, looking determined. "Let's put an end to this big lug!"

The both of us reach some sort of unspoken agreement, pooling our magical energy into the airspace right before us. It resembles a black sphere of energy, not too much unlike that little shockwave of his earlier looked. But that was child's play—soon this ball of energy expands to enormous proportions, a blue charge crackling around it as it develops. I could _feel_ it begging to be released.

" _Alright!_ " I bark, glaring down at Big Lug. "Come to accept your fate, you miscreant! You're _finished!_ "

Together we concentrate our magic energy into a beam, striking Big Lug directly in the center of the chest. For a moment he shakes under the force of all that wonderful power, then freezes. Literally—the mud like exterior of his body visibly hardens and darkens, and cracks begin to spread out from where the beam struck him in the chest. Bright light erupts from the tears in his body and then a fantastic explosion of Big Lug follows, pelting us all with bits of him.

Robin and I touch down to the ground. "Heh…looks like he wanted to go out with a _bang_." I say. I can hear Ricken groan, and Robin just shakes her head. There's nothing but a big pile of Big Lug's remains left. I feel bad for whoever had to clean that up.

...Oh, but that's odd. Now I feel...normal. Everything is toned properly and I seem to have reached homeostatic equilibrium.

"The hell was THAT, Robin?" Sully barks, running over to us.

"Sorry. That was a bad joke, I know—"

She hits me upside the head. "Not the _joke_ , you lout! That floating in the air, eyes glowing and explodin' shit! What was that, some new spell you created?"

"Yeah, that was epic!" Vaike cheers. "Man, I knew you'd been busy doing heavy-duty egghead stuff these past months, but that's like, an ascension to new heights!"

"The truth is…I don't know." I say. Everyone just kind of looks at me like I've admitted to being a fan of Sully's cooking— _insane_. "I really don't…I felt a bit weird, then got empowered by some strange magic. Maybe that was my body's way of trying to fight that fainting spell I nearly had."

"Keh! Maybe! Still, it was freaky." Sully says. "Someone could've thought you'd gotten promoted to godhood, with all that talk of yours."

I blink. "I don't…understand. What did I say?"

"Well…" Ricken says slowly. "I don't know, Robin. You sounded different. Like you were, ah—"

"A power-crazed loony?" Vaike chuckles.

"What Vaike means is that you sounded a bit unlike yourself." Stahl says quickly. "But we _all_ have those moments."

I look sideways at Robin, and she looks from the ground and to me. It may be my imagination, but it looks like she's trying hard not to look away. "Robin?" I ask.

"…I was a bit startled, to say the least, when you rose up with your eyes glowing like that." She says with a lighthearted smile. "Quite a contrast from you being dead weight, don't you think?"

"I…sorry if I've startled you all. I didn't mean to." I say, scratching my head. "...truth of the matter is, I can barely remember any of that."

I freeze as my own words settle. I can barely remember. I can't. Why can't I _remember?_ No, please no, don't tell me that this has something to do with that Hell Hole Hex spell! Too many strange things are going on for my liking, and at once I would find out why!

But then again, how could I replicate something I have little recollection of?

"Well, let's put that behind us for a moment for other interesting matters. Who's this?" Sully asks, looking at my alternate self. I hesitate. I'd end up having to revisit all of yesterday, as much as I didn't want to.

"My name is Robin…like his." She says.

"You have a twin sister with the exact name?" Vaike asks slowly. "Dude…remember what happened the last time you had a 'twin'?"

"This is different. _She's_ different." I say quickly. "In no way is she related to the issues we had with Grima in the past. In fact, she—"

"Hey, everyone!"

I turn around at the voice—it was Lissa and Frederick! They must've been coming from the royal palace. "Are you guys okay?" Lissa asks as she comes to me. "We heard about Ylisstol being invaded, but as soon as we were going to leave, _we_ were attacked by these weird...dark blob things!"

Stunned, I look over her head at Frederick, who's nodding gravely. "It's true, and frankly startling. We had to evacuate everyone from the West Wing…and the nursery."

I feel my stomach drop a bit at that. I'm surprised the palace hasn't collapsed in on itself. Anyone crazy enough to go after Lucina would get a _very_ angry and destructive Chrom on their tail. It was likely why he wasn't even with Lissa and Frederick now in the first place.

"So, yeah. That's why big brother stayed behind for a moment, to make sure everything is…settled." Lissa looks out across us. "But, he wanted us all to meet in the Barracks, post-haste! He wants to talk to us about this entire crazy thing."

"Hmm…as it is, the Ylissean defense seems to be wrapping things up in the capital." Frederick says, studying the streets from afar. "We should be fine to leave them to their own devices."

"Very well—we've no other choice." I say. "Let's all get a move on. Are there any other Shepherds there, Lissa?"

"Yeah, there's Sumia of course, then Cordelia…Maribelle was over for the day, so she's there. Me, Chrom, Frederick, Miriel…and I feel like there was someone else, but I can't remember who it was."

"Good! We're all accounted for." This was perfect! Of course, others that lived in different lands weren't there 24/7, like Cherche, Virion, or Tharja. Or those who naturally wandered, like Gaius and Anna. But the main branch of Ylissean Shepherds were all here, which was perfect since I had to introduce Robin anyway.

"Hey, where's Robin?" Ricken asks.

Lissa turns, raising an eyebrow. "Uh…he's right there next to you?"

"No, I mean the other one."

I stop, looking around. She's not here. Robin isn't here anymore.

"What are you going on about? There's no second Robin!" Lissa argues. Augh, of course. She and Frederick didn't know yet. But this was strange-she was just here next to me. "Robin! Where are you?!" I shout, scanning the area. No one answers me back, and now I've got two people wondering if I'm crazy.

Where could she have gone?


End file.
